PEACE in the Middle East, Donald Trump announced last month, is “not as difficult as people have thought over the years”. History will have to judge the president’s geopolitical impact on the region, but when it comes to air travel his influence is already being felt. And many business travellers might find themselves flying on inferior airlines as a result.

Mr Trump recently took credit for efforts to isolate Qatar. Last week, Saudi Arabia and five other countries in the region cut diplomatic ties with the tiny nation, which wields disproportionate influence through its oil wealth and international aviation. As a result of the sanctions, much of the airspace surrounding Qatar was closed. That blow follows the Trump administration’s earlier actions to ban nationals of several majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States—an order that has been put on hold by the courts—and to prevent…Continue reading
Source: Business and Finance